Jeff Arend
Moon Beer Funny Car Driver for Jim Dunn Racing
60th In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals
Nov. 12-15 | Pomona, California
Event Overview
Friday, Nov. 13 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 1 p.m. PDT/4 p.m. EDT
Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 3:30 p.m. PDT/6:30 p.m. EDT
Saturday, Nov. 14 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
Nitro qualifying session (Q3): 11:30 a.m. PDT/2:30 p.m. EDT
Nitro qualifying session (Q4): 2 p.m. PDT/5 p.m. EDT
Sunday, Nov. 15 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)
Round 1: 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT
Round 2: 1:15 p.m. PDT/4:15 p.m. EDT
Semifinals: 2:45 p.m. PDT/5:45 p.m. EDT
Finals: 4:10 p.m. PDT/7:10 p.m. EDT
TV coverage on FS1
Sunday, Nov. 15: Qualifying show recapping the action from Friday and Saturday (11 a.m. EDT)
Sunday, Nov. 15: Finals show (5 p.m. EDT)
Notes of Interest
This weekend’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, California is the 20th and final race on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ schedule, and the iconic California venue is where the six-race Countdown to the Championship culminates. Jim Dunn Racing brings its one full-time entry in Funny Car for Jeff Arend. A native of Canada, Arend moved to Southern California in 1997.
As the NHRA celebrates its landmark 75th season in 2026, Jim Dunn Racing is celebrating 76 years of success in drag racing. Jim started drag racing when he was 15 years old and at 92 years old, he plans to keep going as long as he can. In 2024, Jim received the NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award. He has won some of the sport’s most significant races and has provided driving opportunities for some of the biggest names in the sport.
Coming into Pomona, Arend is 16th in the Funny Car standings, 2245 points behind leader Matt Hagan.
Moon Beer is the primary partner of Arend this weekend in Pomona. Moon Beer is an easy-drinking American light lager created as a collaboration between Mooneyes and Frogtown Brewery. The beer has a crisp, clean finish. Frogtown’s premium quality hops and horsepower delivers a light-bodied lager that is tuned and dialed to keep you cruising all-day long. Frogtown Brewery is an independent craft brewery and taproom located in northeast Los Angeles along the L.A. River. It was recently named one of the 50 Fastest Growing Breweries in the United States by the Brewers Association.
The NHRA Finals will mark Arend’s 264th career Funny Car appearance, and his 27th overall appearance at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
In no other event has Jim Dunn Racing won more often than it has in the In-N-Out Burger Finals. Unfortunately, both wins (Funny Car titles in 1972 and 1981 with Jim Dunn himself the driver of record) came before the event was moved permanently to In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in 1984. The first win (at Ontario Motor Speedway) was the most significant insomuch as it came with Dunn driving a rear-engine version of his “Fireman’s Quickie” Funny Car. That stands today as the only NHRA Funny Car victory in a car of that configuration. When he won in 1981 (beating California racing legends John Lombardo, Don Prudhomme, Dale Pulde and Gary Burgin), it was in a conventional Funny Car on the track at Orange County Internationals Raceway in Irvine, Calif. Best result since the race was moved to Pomona was Kenji Okazaki’s trip to the semifinals in 1996.
Arend has made 14 starts in the Finals and 26 starts overall at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. His best result was a runner-up finish to John Force in the 2010 Finals. His overall record at Pomona is 10-26. In his previous affiliation with Jim Dunn Racing, he was the No. 8 qualifier in 2013 and the No. 14 qualifier in 2014.
Jim Dunn Racing still is seeking its first win in a Countdown race although Arend independently won a playoff event in 2009 when, after qualifying 15th, he beat Jack Beckman, John Force, Ashley Force Hood and Tony Pedregon to win at Memphis, Tenn.
Jeff Arend, Driver of the Jim Dunn Racing Moon Beer Funny Car
Looking back on this season with Jim Dunn Racing, how great was it to be reunited with the team again and what are you most proud of accomplishing?
“I can still remember my phone ringing on that Saturday morning of the Winternationals and seeing the name Jon Dunn pop up. Now Jon and I talk all the time, but I was not expecting him to ask ‘Hey Jeff, can you drive our car for Q3 and Q4?’ And that’s how it started. Looking back on the year while we haven’t won any rounds, we also have become a consistent low 4-second racecar and we don’t hurt any parts. The two things I am most proud of are one, at every race but one we have gone down the track with respectable runs between 4.01- 4.15-seconds and other teams are taking us seriously. The best race for me was Indy. It was the largest field in the last 10 plus years and we qualified and didn’t even have to make the last run. Indy is Big Jim’s favorite race and to see the smile on Jim and Diane’s face meant everything to me! The icing on the cake was running 320 miles per hour in the first round. Now we are at the final race, our home track and we know what’s been plaguing us all year. Some round wins and 3-second runs would be a nice way to end the season!”
